Priti Patel gets Cabinet rank in Cameron's Conservative team

London, May 12: Prime Minister David Cameron today promoted one of Britain's most prominent Indian-origin MPs Priti Patel by making her the new Employment Minister, as he continued to give finishing touches to his first all- Conservative Cabinet.

Patel, who was re-elected from Witham in Essex with a big majority in the May 7 general election, will take charge as the new Employment Minister of Britain.

The 43-year-old replaces another female MP in the Cabinet, Esther McVey, who lost her seat at the polls.

"A real privilege to be appointed as Minister of State for Employment at the Department for Work and Pensions," Patel said in a Twitter message.

While the London-born mother of one will not be in charge of the Department for Work and Pensions, she has been given a Cabinet rank as a promotion from her previous role as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury.

It remains to be seen if she will also carry on in her honorary role as the British Prime Minister's Indian Diaspora Champion.

Her appointment reflects Cameron's plans to shake up the party's old fashioned all-male image and have a significant number of women around the Cabinet table.

Amber Rudd has been appointed Energy and Climate Change Secretary and Baroness Stowell is promoted to the Cabinet as the Leader of the House of Lords.

Cameron had already confirmed Nicky Morgan in her previous post as Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities.

Other key announcements today included Pakistani-origin Sajid Javid moving from Culture Secretary to Secretary of State for Business and London Mayor Boris Johnson being made a minister without a portfolio.

Johnson, widely seen as a Conservative party leadership contender, will attend Political Cabinet until he completes his term as mayor in 2016 when he is expected to be given an official portfolio.

Cameron said: "Boris Johnson will be attending my Political Cabinet. As promised, he will devote his attention to his final year as Mayor of London."

Iain Duncan Smith, often referred to by his initials IDS, will be Patel's boss as the Work and Pensions Secretary and veteran Tory MP John Whittingdale is to become Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

Some of the senior ministerial posts were confirmed soon after the election results were finalised on Friday.

Chancellor George Osborne, Home Secretary Theresa May, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and Defence Secretary Michael Fallon were re-confirmed in their respective posts.

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Pak jail authorities say Imran Khan is alive and healthy after ‘murder’ rumours spark panic

News Network

November 27,2025

Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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